Ellen DeGeneres: I'm Not Going to Be Able to Please Everyone

Ellen, on whether she worries about negativity from viewers: “Yeah, sure. And I understand it. I was one of those people that was skeptical, like, ‘Why are they adding a fourth judge? I don’t understand this.’ But I do think that Kara adds a lot to the show now. And also, it’s not just a new judge. It’s a new judge in the place of someone that they loved. I mean, a lot of people loved Paula, and I don’t want to be the person that took Paula’s job away from her. Which I wasn’t. I’m not going to be able to please everyone. I gave up trying to do that a long time ago.”

Simon, on criticism of his gay-themed banter with Ryan Seacrest: “Let me tell you something: We are the least racist, homophobic show in the world. What we do have, thank God, is a sense of humor. I hate political correctness. I wouldn’t go into any show saying anything is off-limits. If we have to abide by a ton of rules, we might as well call it a day now.”
Ellen, on what she’d do if Simon left the show: “If Simon goes, I go! I will not be there without Simon.”